Local press targeted and harassed in Ivory Coast

Lagos, Nigeria, August 24, 2012--Ivorian
authorities must immediately halt censorship of news outlets reporting
critically on the government and investigate an armed assault on the offices of
a publishing group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

"We call on President
Alassane Ouattara to demonstrate tolerance and a commitment to democratic
principles," said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita from New York.
"As the country weathers a period of great tension, the president can set an
important example by allowing the voices of opposition to air their concerns
and opinions, as harsh as they may be."

The state-run National Press Council suspended the daily Le
Temps on August 3 for 20 editions in connection with a July 24 article that
it said defamed Ouattara, Raphael
Lakpé, the council's chairman, said in an interview on U.N.-sponsored station ONUCI FM. Le Temps, which is loyal to the former leader Laurent Gbagbo, had
published an opinion piece on violence between supporters of Ouattara and those
of Gbagbo and called the president a "ghoulish vampire," according to news
reports. Opposition groups have accused Ouattara and his allies of targeting
supporters of Gbagbo in the past.

Le Temps' editor-in-chief, Simplice Allard, was also suspended from writing for
the paper for one month, news
reports said.

On Sunday morning, a group of unidentified armed
men attacked
the offices of the Cyclone Media Group, in Abidjan, whichpublishes Le Temps,
according to news reports. The men assaulted a security guard, set a room on
fire, ransacked the offices, and stole several computers, Agence France-Presse reported. No one was injured
in the attack, which caused significant damage to the offices, AFP said. Police
have not made any arrests yet, local journalists said, adding that they believe
the attack on the media group was in reprisal for Le Temps' critical coverage of Ouattara's government.

In another case of official censorship, the
National Press Council suspended Bôl'
Kotch, a private satirical newspaper, on August 8 for eight issues, over
articles and cartoons critical of Ouattara that appeared in its July 27 edition,
the state news agency AIP reported.
The council singled out a caricature of an exchange between Ouattara and an
army chief that suggested the president was using ethnic groups of traditional
hunters to fight pro-Gbagbo supporters in the ongoing unrest in the country, according to news
reports.

At least one
journalist who has extensively covered the activities of former leader Gbagbo
has told CPJ he fears for his life. Alain Tiéffi, photo editor of the state
daily Fraternité Matin, said his
neighbors had suggested to him that he leave their house in Yopougon, a suburb
considered a Gbagbo stronghold. Security forces, in response to armed
attacks against government positions, have in recent weeks conducted raids
on houses in Yopougon and arrested people suspected of being linked to armed
supporters of the ousted leader, according to news
reports.

Tiéffi told
CPJ that fighters loyal to Ouattara had ransacked his house in May 2011 and
pointed a gun at his head. "I am the only journalist in the area I live. My
wife, children, and in-laws are all living with me. Right now, I don't know
what to do. I am scared," Tiéffi told CPJ.

Gérard Gnawa,
a spokesman for the police in Abidjan, would not tell CPJ if they were
investigating the case.

A group of six pro-opposition dailies have refused
to publish their newspapers on August 24 and 25 to protest the attack on the
Cyclone Media Group and the threats and assaults Ivorian journalists have faced
in recent months, according to news reports. The group said the refusal to
publish was to display "the risk of death that hangs over the lives of
journalists."

For more data and analysis on the Ivory
Coast, visit CPJ's Ivory Coast page here.